Week 8 Reflections

It is hard to believe that eight weeks have past.  When you are in a moment it seems to last forever but when you look back you realize it was just a brief time.  I have learned so much over the last past eight weeks.  It is one thing to talk about learning different types of technology and another to utlize  and apply it.  I have learned that technology is not that difficult.  It just takes time to learn it and willingness to try.  I believe I am overwhelmed with the amount of technology available.  It was nice to take a class and just learn some of the many tools available and learn them.  I enjoyed looked at what others in the class have done.  I will continue to found ways to implement technology and make it about of my "world" at school.  I do not know if I will continue to blog.  I like to idea of reflecting on learning but I still perfer journal writing for self reflection on what I am learning.  There are things I like to share with others and get feedback so perhaps one day I will beome a blogger!

Weekly Reflections

This week we had to develop a lesson plan that utilized technology.  I developed a science lesson plan that not only incorporated technology but math and english.  Students will use a class blog to upload a persuaded paper to get city management to invest more in a recycling.  They will then be put into groups to become experts over a specific issues that we are faces today that will effect our quality of life in the future if not dealt with now.  They will then create a way to present the issue with solutions to their classmates using technology of their choice.

Weekly Reflection

This week I created a Jing.  My son thought it was neat.  He stated he had heard that you could capture a screen but he had not seen it done before.  So today I taught him a new Web 2.0 tool that he didn't know.  It is usually the other way.  I can see the benefits of using a jing.  Teachers could use it to demonstrate various concepts that they are learning in class.  Teachers could use if for tutorial purposes via the internet.  Teachers could send information to parent about things that happening in the class or school. 

My Jing was how over Edmodo.  I like this site.  I have not use it much and this year I was not in the classroom.  My son has one teacher that uses it.  I like that it has weekly assignment posted and I can keep track of what he has due.  Students can communicate with each other and the teacher.  She doesn't post questions but using it more for information.

I think that creating the Jing is easy but sharing with other can be a little complicative.  I also thought do I sound like that so I had to record many times.  The times goes faster than you think when you only have so long to say what you have to say.  At first I thought I had to much time but I actually had to practice shorten what I wanted to say.

Week 5-Reflection

I find the MAPPing activity very interesting and eye opening.  I did not perform very well.  I did not know all the various search engines that are available for one to use.  My thoughts were google and yahoo.  What else could there be?  I was surprise by the long list of search engine available.  I had heard of dogpile and excite but they would not have easily come to my mind.  I would not have thought of 95% of those listed.

I did know why we use quotation marks in a search.  I knew the meaning of  URL but did not know the meaning of its acronym.   I heard of Boolean search terms but did not know what it was.  I was excited to know how to locate the owner of a website.  I did not know how to do this before.  I can really see the benefit of having this information when doing research and seeing basis in how information is given.

I knew a lot of the extension but not all of them. I also found it interesting to know that you can locate the history of a website.   Basically I thought that this was a good activity and quiz.  I will do this activity with my children at home to teach them the more about the Internet.  We use the Internet without really given thought into the information we are locating on the various sites.  I am guilty of just going to the first site and retrieving information not doing further research to see if it is a "good" site to get the needed information.

We must teach our students how to properly navigate the web.  If we do not they will believe that the information they are founding is true.  We must teach them how some site are simply someone's opinion and how to look up the owner of the sites they are using.  We must teach them that the first site on a search may not be the best to use for information and why.  We must teach them how to put words in the search engine to get the results they desire.  Below is a quick video on how to use search engine.  I did not know putting a minus sign in the search engine removed information.  It is interesting how to lower your search research.  What an interesting activity to show kids how to effectively use search engines.

This is my delicious account:  http://delicious.com/tammy70_07.  I once had an account but it was closed last year when they change the site.  I had many sites bookmarked.  I had networked with various teachers.  It is good to bookmark your sites and group them.  This helped when I was planning lesson and needed ideas over various concepts.  I had bookmarks of teacher sites.  I will once again develop this site and network with other educators.

Week 4--Reflections



The above view is a quick video using movie making over the benefits of portfolios.   One part of the video mentioned that learners need to reflect on their learning.  This point goes with the AFL that I relate to the most.  I believe that “AFL develops learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing”.  I believe that students create more meaningful experience by reflecting on their learning.   Students should be able to say what they understand about various concepts and what they do not understand.  I believe that by creating a portfolio we not only tap into our students’ creativity we creative a learning environment that causes them to utilize their critical thinking skills.

I see portfolio beginning in the first grade.  I believe that students will begin to create e-portfolios that will travel with them each year.  This will not only benefit the student but the teachers.  It would allow students to begin to take responsibility for their learning by choosing pieces to include each year that will demonstrate their mastery of concepts.  It would allow teachers to see what misconceptions students have about their learning through the students reflecting on their learning process. 

I believe that a portfolio will allow teachers to better gauge what knowledge their students have coming to them each year.  It will allow students to develop more engaging lessons that will truly allow students to reach new highest each year.

Week 3---Wiki



The above you-tube video is a simple explanation of what a wiki is.  I created a wiki so that math educators  at my school could collaborate with each other.  This wiki would not only allow for collaboration amongst grade level but it would also allow for vertical collaboration among the teachers.  This would begin to allow teachers to use a common math "language" across the grade levels.  It would allow teachers to see how what they are teaching in the lowers grades "feed" into what students are to learn and understand in the upper grades. It would assist teachers in planning learning and generating ideas.

One of the biggest advantage of utilizing a wiki is that teachers do not have to be in the same room to share ideas or plans.  They can be in the comfort of their home or at a workshop or in their classroom.  With editing privileges teachers can share in creating lesson plans and project in order to lighten a teachers workload.  I believe that a wiki could be use to unleashed even more creativity from teacher.  I believe this because they can take the ideas that are written on the wiki and add ideas and suggestion thereby creating an even greater project or lessons.  I have not begin to use this wiki but I plan to get it started at my school.

A disadvantage of using a wiki is if the information is not arranged in a manner that would allow it to be user friendly.  If the information is not arranged so that related information is located together and easier found user will soon tire of the wiki.  This would require extra work on the part of the person in charge of the wiki unless teachers rotate this responsibility.

Today's digital learner would benefit from the use of a class wiki.  It would help them keep up with assignments.  It would be a great place for them to share ideas of things they would like to do in class.  Students would benefit because they could collaborate with each other and the teacher. 

The web 2.0 tool that I would like to use in the classroom one day is the museum box.  This is the website: http://museumbox.e2bn.org/index.php.    Museum box allows the creator to put a number of items into a box that describes an event, person, or period in time by placing information in a virtual box.  Students could debate a topic or use the museum box as a description box.  It can be used in any class but mostly I see the benefits of using this tool in history and english.

Week 2 Reflections

Educational Technology Organizations

http://www.edutopia.org/

Edutopia believes that educational technology is achieved when it is used to support curricular goals.  Technology according to this organization is engaging, involves group participation, frequent interaction and feedbacks, and connects the learner to real-world experts.

According to the website this is their mission:

The George Lucas Educational Foundation is dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.

The video below is a you tube video from Edutopia.  It shows how they believe that teachers should colloaborate with each other.  We should not just colloabarate with those in our school or district but just think how powerful it would be to colloaborate with teachers from other areas to enhance our students learning and development.  Technology is the tool to allow this to take place.

I chose this organization because they align with my school of philisophy.  I beleive that we are to teach our students to think critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaborately, and communicate with clarity and impact.  I believe that technology should enhance these skills and be integrated within the core curriculum.  We as educators most come together and share ideas in order to create greater concepts of learning.

http://www.cosn.org/

The following mission statement and core belief are taken from the COSN website.

Our Mission

Empowering educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments.

Our Core Beliefs

■The primary challenge we face in using technology effectively is human.

■Technology is a critical tool to personalize learning and overcome barriers of time and space for each learner. 

■Equitable and ubiquitous access to technology is a necessity.

■The effective use of technology for the systemic transformation of learning cannot occur without strong organization, leadership, and vision.

■Technological fluency allows our children to be prepared for the world of today and tomorrow.

■Technology enables innovation in our educational systems, resulting in greater efficiencies and productivity.

■To maximize the benefits of technology solutions the district technology leader should be part of the executive leadership team (CTO, CIO, etc.) of the education organization.

■Global connections are vital to transforming the education process and improving learning.

The reason I chose this organziation is that I like that they are finding ways to prepare students for the 21st century.  They want to find create ways to allow global connects for our students yet at the same time they want to ensure that technology remains a tools to achieve the goal of education.

What is Educational Technology?

My definition of education technology is closely aligned with the above video.  I believe that educational technology is a tool that educators use to facilitate the learning process in order to engage students in the learning process in order to allow them to use thier critical thinking  and creative skills to create learning experiences not only in their own communities but globally.

Week One Reflections

 

Educational Technology Philosophy (1st Draft)

The purpose of education is to allow students to develop connections between what they are learning at school and their world outside of school.  It is when these connections are made that true learning will take place.  Education should not be just to memorize a bunch of facts or about concepts that the students will not remember in a month or when the class is over.  Education has to be more.  Education is learning to apply what you are learning at school in your everyday life.  Education is to teach students the skills that will lead them to be successful in life.  It is much more than assigning a student a grade.

I believe that the teacher’s job in education is to guide students into constructing meaningful learning experiences.  A teacher’s role is not just to give students information but to create experiences and situation where students make connects for learning themselves.  A teacher should create an environment were critical thinking is the norm.  As teachers of digital learners we should equip today’s students with the necessary tools to thrive in today’s global market.  The typical style of teaching and learning is not what students of this technological era need.  Teachers must realize that all students are not the same and teaching mostly lecture style will not reach most students.  Teachers have a responsibility to learn how to incorporate technology into the classroom environment.  They must learn ways to collaborate with each other to find ways to create learning experiences that will be meaningful for students.

 I also believe that students must be actively engaged and involved in the learning process.  They can no long “sit and get”.  They must begin to make connection in the learning environment to their world. Students need to learn to collaborate with each other to create a meaningful learning experience that strengthens their learning.  Students should learn to use technology to expand the boundaries of their education.  Students need to realize that they also have a responsibility in the learning process. 

Educational Blogging

I like the idea of utilizing blogs to facilitate classroom discussions.  This would allow all students to participate and even the voice of the quietest students would be heard.  Students could reflect on concepts and post thoughts to ponder over the concepts or questions they may have related to the discussed concept.  The idea of using blogs to reflect upon reading assignments is a great idea. 

I must agree with the article in that once the class is complete most students stop blogging.  I also believe the cause is because students have not made the blog their own.  It was done simply to complete an assignment.  They have not connected to world outside of their classroom to truly have their thoughts challenged and validated.  It was simply something to do to get a grade.

I believe what stops educators from using blogs in the classroom are controlling what is written on blogs.  Security of our students is an important issue some parents do not want their children communicating with unknown individuals.  Educators are also bound by curriculum so students will always have to get needed concepts covers.  These topics may or may not be of interest to students. 

I truly believe that blogs could allow our students to communicate on a more global level but I security issues and curriculum issue will have to be addressed.  Parents and districts would have to believe that it is worth the cost and risk.

Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning

I enjoyed reading this articled by Alan November.   November discussed six points for one to ponder regarding technology and learning.    One concept that stood out in my mind from this article is that kids may have technical skills but do not possess the critical thinking skills needed to validate the information they are locating on the internet.    They are unable to “deconstruct” what they are finding in order to conclude if the information is from a valid source.  Basically the article stated that “if it’s on the internet then kids believe that it is true”.    I really believe that as educators we should not allow our students to access the Internet unless we also teach them to think and discriminate about the information they locate on the Internet. 

The above video points out how fast new information is developing using technology.  It is not so much that we teach our students how to use these sources of information but we teach them the critical thinking skills needed to successfully implement the use of such technology properly.  Our students are using technology at younger ages many before they enter into a formal classroom setting.  Today's children are truly digital learners and we must embrace this fact but we must also realize that is more that just using the technology that will make our students successful.

Class Expectations

My goal for this course is to learn more about technology and education.  I would like to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of incorporting technology into a learning environment.  I would like to learn more about the various ways educators can utlized technology in an educational setting to enhance student's learning and engagement.  I would like to learn some of the many web 2.0 tools that are available for educators and students.   An additional goal I would I would like is to begin to develop my educational philosophy and beliefs.  I would like to be able to explain why I believe what I believe and why I have the goals for students that I have.  My expectation is that this class will lead me to reach these goals or get me closer in my purse of these goals.

“Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.”

 Ralph Marston